Many college graduates are in the market for a vehicle to get them to interviews or a new job reliably. While there’s a vast selection of vehicles to choose from, important considerations like safety and affordability can help narrow your search.
Vehicle safety should be a priority when making a purchase decision, as it helps ensure you’re protected in the event of a collision. Many newer vehicles are equipped with technology like lane departure warning, blind spot information systems, and braking assistance technology to help prevent a collision or lessen its severity. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Insurance Institute for Highway evaluate vehicle safety based on crashworthiness, and crash avoidance and mitigation.
Choosing a vehicle that’s within your budget will also impact what you ultimately decide to buy. Mercury’s research and development team examined model-year vehicles from 2015-2018 that received a 5-Star Safety Rating from NHTSA and a Top Safety Pick+ or Top Safety Pick from IIHS to come up with a top-10 list of the safest and most affordable vehicles to insure for college grads¹.
- 2016 Hyundai Santa Fe
- 2015 Kia Soul
- 2016 Kia Sportage
- 2016 Honda CR-V
- 2016 Hyundai Elantra
- 2017 Hyundai Tucson
- 2017 Honda CR-V
- 2017 Kia Soul
- 2016 Kia Sorento
- 2016 Hyundai Tucson
Best of luck as you enter the next chapter of your life’s journey.
¹ This list was created based on Mercury’s price for full coverage – liability, comprehensive and collision. Other factors, such as a driver’s experience and accident history, can push the rate up or down, but were not included in the rate calculations. Specific vehicles vary depending on where in the country the vehicle will be insured.